Knitting-machine



N. P. AIKEN. STOP MOTION FOR KNITTING MACHINES.

No. 20,854. Patented July 13,1858

UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFIC.

N. P. AIKEN, OF TROY, NEW YORK.

KNITTING-MACHINE.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 20,854, dated July 13,1858; Reissued May 3, 18 59, No. 709.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, N. P. AIKEN, of Troy, in the county of Rensselaerand State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Stop-Motion forRotary Knitting- Machines; and I do hereby declare that the following isa full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in whichFigure l is an elevation of the principal portion of a r0tary knittingmachine, with my invention applied. Fig. 2 is a plan of the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in bothfigures.

' This invention consists in a certain mode of combining the sinkerwheel or any toothed wheel gearing into and deriving motion from theneedles with a movable stop which is applied to the belt-shipper to lockit in a position to hold the driving belt on the driving pulley of themachine so long as the knitting progresses properly, whereby as soon asthe thread breaks or any of the loops miss, the shipper is caused to beunlocked and allowed to be moved by a spring or its equivalent appliedfor the purpose, to a position to ship the belt on to a loose pulley andthus to stop the machine.

To enable others to make and use my invention, I will proceed todescribe its construction and operation.

a, a, are the needles attached to a horizontal bevel gear A, whichderives a rotary motion on an upright shaft Z), from a bevel gear B, onthe horizontal driving shaft C.

D, is the driving pulley fast on the driving shaft C; and E, is theloose pulley on the same shaft.

F, is the driving belt.

G, is the belt-shipper, sliding horizontally in two guides 0, c, andhaving a spiral spring (Z, applied to it in such a manner as to exert atendency to ship the belt on to the loose pulley E.

H, is a lever arranged at right angles to the belt-shipper on a fulcrume, which is secured in a post I. One arm of this lever, which is longerand heavier that the other one, stands over the belt-shipper; and whenthe belt is on the fast pulley D, the said arm drops into a notch in thetop of the belt-shipper and thus acts as a stop to lock the shipper.

J, is the sinker wheel, arranged in the usual position, but, instead ofhaving its axis fixed, being fixed to turn on a pin f, which is securedto one end of a horizontal bar K, that is fitted to slide longitudinallyin a standard L, but prevented turning therein by a screw pin 5 whosepoint enters a small groove in the said bar. The position of the bar K,is radial or nearly so to the circle of needles. At the opposite end ofthe bar K, to the sinker wheel, there is a screw-thread h, cut on thesaid bar; and to this screw-thread is fitted a nut Z, which acts as astop to the bar to prevent the sinkers m, m, being caused to enter toodeeply between the needles by the pressure of a spring a, which isapplied to the end of the bar K, to force it toward the circle ofneedles. The pressure of the spring 91, is intended to be sufficient tokeep the sinkers to their work while the knitting proceeds. It isgraduated by a screw and nut 0, p, the former of which is secured firmlyto the standard L.

M, is a lever whose fulcrum is a pin g, in a fixed arm L, of thestandard L. The upper end of this lever is connected by a pin 1*, withthe sliding bar K, and the lower end is beveled or rounded to fit abeveled surface at the end of the shorter arm of the lever H.

The operation of the stop motion is as follows: While the knitting isproceeding in a proper manner, the spring n, holds the bar K securelywith the nut Z, against the standard L, and keeps the wheel to itsoperative position; but as soon as a stitch is dropped, the threadaccumulates under the needles and, pressing against the sinker wheel,forces it and the sliding bar K, outward, and moves the lever M, to suchan extent as to make its beveled lower end move upon the beveled end oflever H, and thus depress the shorter arm of the said lever, and raisethe other arm from the notch in the beltshipper, thereby liberating itand leaving it under the influence of the spring G, and moving it towardthe loose pulley and shifting the belt on to that pulley, andconsequently stopping the machine. When the damage has been repaired theshipper is drawn back by the knob G, at one of its ends to shift thebelt on to the driving pulley again, and the stop lever H, droppingagain into the notch in the shipper,

locks it till a stitch is again dropped, and the sinker Wheel moved outagain.

One or more sinker Wheels may be applied in the same machine to operatein the same manner. Or any Wheel applied in the same manner to pressagainst the threads and to gear with and derive motion from the needlesWill produce the same effect and be equivalent to the sinker Wheel.Instead of making the lever H, with a beveled end, the end of the leverM, may be made to operate in the same manner in a notch on the formerlever.

I am aware that it is not new to use a belt-shippin apparatus in aknitting machine, to move the belt from the driving to the loose pulleyWhen the yarn breaks or gives out; and therefore I do not claim broadlythis as my invention, but

W'hat I do claim as my invention, and desire to secure by LettersPatent, is:

The arrangement of the shipper or beltshifter G, in the mannersubstantially as described, and in combination With the movable stop H,lever M, and sliding bar K, When controlled by a sinker Wheel or by anywheel gearing with and moved by the needles, for the purpose set forth.

NELSON P. AIKEN.

Witnesses WILL FARLAND, C. DUTCHER.

[Fms'r PRINTED 1911.]

